Mission Statement
Praxis International, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation, working toward the elimination of violence in the lives of women and their children.
It is the mission of Praxis International to join with other progressive social change organizations and programs to work toward the elimination of oppression in our society. Specifically, Praxis focuses on the many ways that violence is used to subjugate women.
Women do not experience oppression simply as women; we experience it as women of differing sexuality, class, ethnicity, physical and mental ability, social privilege, religious or spiritual practices, age, and personal experience as the objects of men’s violence.
Praxis seeks to work in ways that takes up the full range of women’s experiences whenever and however possible. Praxis is committed to offering social activists sharing this goal a supportive and challenging work environment. The primary method of work is to analyze and change masculinist institutional practices that contribute to men’s violence toward women and the related methods of social control that make women vulnerable to violence.
History
Praxis was organized in 1997 by a small group of domestic violence activists. The primary goal of Praxis was to develop a method and process of examining institutional practices and their impact on women’s lives-which was eventually called a Safety Audit. Praxis has subsequently worked with a number of police and sheriff’s departments, the U.S. Coast Guard, several batterers educational programs, and various coordinated community response groups to carry out audits of their institutional responses to domestic violence cases.
Praxis means action, but not just any kind of action. It is the application of a science or an art to practical work—in other words, action that results from thinking things through. We chose the name Praxis for our organization because we want our work to help communities take action that is firmly anchored in the reality and perspectives of battered women. We want to integrate theory and practice into a Praxis that is functional and effective for women who are battered.
In Memoriam
We are profoundly sad that we lost our founding director, Ellen Pence, who passed from this earth on January 6, 2012. There are few words to describe the love and admiration we feel for her. The impact she had on all of our lives was tremendous, and we are so grateful for the time we had with her. It is just not possible to believe that such indomitable spirit, relentless energy, and astonishing mind could be gone from us. Read more about Ellen’s many accomplishments
Show More
YouTube video links
TPT (Public Television documentary)
Domestic Abuse Intervention Project interview
Ellen’s rally at the Minnesota Capitol, 2000